The Next Life
by llivla
Summary: Eggman kills Sonic, just not in the way the Gang thinks. [it liiiiveessss...]
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic. I own squat. Get used to it.

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Sonic dodged another highly-powered laser beam and demolished the attacking robot by smashing its head. As its carefully made parts flew to the floor, the hedgehog moved on at an incredible speed. _He's not getting away THIS time,_ he thought to himself grimly._ I'll make sure of that! _

Dozens of rooms, doors, and bots flew by in barely distinguishable blurs of color until he stopped in front of a steel door. Curling into a ball, the flame ring radiating with power, he broke through and ran out of the spin until he could stand on his feet. The room was large. Highly technological equipment and control panels for tools and laser beams filled it. It was all steel, and cold. Every breath Sonic panted from the run came out in puffs of smoke. i _Perfect space for fighting when I find that creep._

"SONIC!"

The blue hedgehog whirled around to see Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Sally, and Amy rushing in, their weapons poised and ready for use. "Tails," he responded. "What's the status on what's left of Egg's lab?"

"Nothing left but dust." Tails smiled playfully.

"Huh, I made sure of that myself!" Knuckles growled, cracking his knuckles.

Rouge chuckled at his ego. "What about you?" she asked Sonic, "Find him yet?"

"He's hiding in here somewhere; I can feel it. When I ran past, I sensed a disturbance in the motion particles surrounding the room before they reorganized themselves." Sonic's green eyes were already scanning the room for the fat idiot. "Man, what's with evil geniuses and world domination?" He sighed. Not that he minded, because saving the world was fun.

Amy gave that giggle he knew too well. "They ARE evil geniuses, Sonic," she chided.

"Well, we're not gonna find this guy unless we look now," said Sally, observing the area as well.

"Ooookey dokie then--Tails and Sally you come with me. Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy head for the back of the south end of this room. He's NOT getting away without a couple a bruises!"

The teams set out, hunting for their egg-shaped 'friend'. Knuckles and Rouge sticking close; their instincts ready for the unexpected. Amy fell into step behind them, letting the couple be together. With soft, gentle glances, the pink hedgehog looked around her. Her mallet was out and ready, but her face was innocent and, despite the situation, quite serene. The inventions around her were quite interesting anyway. They included holographic imagery devices, lasers, guns, rays, transportation units, communication links; the classes of technology didn't seem to end.

One piece of machinery however, stood out among all the others to her. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about it that made her quills stick up. "Knuckles," she began.

"Quiet!" Knuckles hissed, oblivious to the quills that were getting sharper with uncertainty the longer she stared at it.

Rouge looked to Amy, saw her change in appearance, and followed the younger one's gaze. "What is it Amy?" The beautiful bat asked softly. "Something's wrong you idiot!" She snapped to Knuckles; then turning back to Amy, she demanded gently: "Tell me Amy."

Then, before Amy could breathe a word of her premonition, the laser started to move. "SONIC!" Amy screamed. "It's Eggman! He's in that laser!"

Sonic was there before she could finish her sentence. "There you are you creep!" He yelled. The group came together as one and stood before Dr. Robotnick. Their faces were grin with determination and eyes filled with defiance. "Come out and fight!"

Maniacal laughter filled the steel lab. "I'll give you a fight you nasty little pests." Came the voice inside the machine. "I'll send you to the next life!" As he said this, the laser began to glow blue with ferocious energy. Sonic saw the motion energy particles reorganizing and moving faster and faster around it.

"Guys, be ready to dodge!" Tails called out, his computer eyeglass spinning with code. "This thing is especially designed to keep up Sonic's speed so be careful." Sonic bent into a fighting position and did the thing he usually did: he energized with the light speed dash and attacked.

"Fool!" Cried Dr. Robotnick, maneuvering out of the way with speed. "You think I wasn't prepared for you?" Then, while the wheels of the machine crushed Sonic's leg, Eggman's laser aimed directly at the team. "PERISH!" He yelled, pulling forward and fired.

What happened next was totally unexpected and unstoppable. Knuckles grabbed Rouge and leaped out of the way of the blast. Tails made a grab for Sally and Amy, but his grip was not strong enough, and Sonic's eyes widened as in slow motion Tail's _let go_ of Amy's hand. With shock and anger at anger for crippling his leg, Sonic felt himself challenging the particles of motion. And, defying all logic, he ran to shove Amy out of the way. He ran as he never ran before and with a smirk of victory he grabbed Amy...

Too late. The blast hit them both, and both felt the heat and electricity, the burning through their bodies. Sonic never experienced such pain in his life--"Oh," was all he could gasp in surprise as suddenly it stopped.

Then, in the next second, they were vaporized.

Gone in that single instant of time, gone, forever.

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	2. Chapter Two

You know what I love? Amy or Sally-haters. Seriously. What the duce?

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Tails stared in shock at the spot where his much-adored mentor had been. He looked to Sally, to see if she was any better off.

She wasn't.

"Sonic?" Sally's voice trembled out softly, her voice choking with unmistakable agony. Then, eyes brimming with tears and anger: "SONIC!" Her knees buckled and the heartbroken squirrel fell to the floor as she continued to gape at the place her boyfriend had last been.

Knuckles's uncontrollable temper had gotten the better of him again. And, before Rouge or anyone could stop him, he charged full speed at Eggman.

"WHAT. DID. YOU. _DO_?!" He snarled, breaking away the safety glass in Eggman's machine with an ease built on a more powerful source: rampaging fury. Beyond just talking (which he had never intended to do so in the first place), he dragged the villain out in lightening speed and jammed him into the wall before any of the Gang could so much as utter a shred of protest. Like they would have anyway.

Eggman smirked and gave his trademark 'maniacal' laugh. "I told him I'd send him to the next life." He said laughing, as if this was something as casual as telling them a funny joke. His beady eyes glittered like coal diamonds with glee, and his absurd mustache twitched more than ever like a sweeper. "However, I didn't intend to put his girlfriend into orbit too. Oh, wait, YOU'RE the girlfriend aren't you?" He added, taking Sally in as if for the first time. Knuckles's grip grew stronger, his weapons of choice bearing his name poking dangerously.

"So happy you realized," she snapped darkly. Sally's fur bristled. Resentment filled her whole being. _Sonic!_ She thought to herself.

"You can't be gone Sonic, you just can't." She said aloud unintentionally. Her fists clenched and the squirrel thought absently at the pain in her heart. It was such a strange feeling she had never been accustomed to before. She stared at the ground. This wasn't happening! Sonic had endured so much more than this! Flashes of memories with and without her whirled past before she could stop them, and Sally bit back a sob at the last recollection of Sonic's know-it-all grin as he held ANOTHER chili-dog in his gloved hand before Tails burst in with the newest telecast to destroy the world.

'So this is what it feels like...shock I mean.' Tails wondered slightly, staring at where his heart was. 'I'm not at the waterworks like Sally, and I'm not a raging hurricane like Knuckles. I can't...express anything. I saw him die...or whatever happened to him, but it hasn't really sunk in yet. Strange how our bodies are sometimes so good at denial. I wonder, if Sonic was in denial at that final moment?' The small fox jammed his eyes shut. 'I let go of Amy!' He thought as guilt he had never come into contact with filled through him. Although he protested, a single thought was blasted in the corridor of his brilliant mind: 'It was your fault.'

Sally shakily started to close her eyes, "I can't..."

Eggman's grin grew wider if possible. "Oh, he's not gone in the way you all think."

Rouge's head jerked up instantly. She had been so busy staring at where the pink and blue hedgehogs had been the last words said by the maniac were a violent jolt. "What are you talking about?"

"Now, why would I tell you that?" He said, genuinely puzzled.

With a volt of reality, Tails met Dr. Eggman in the eye and said, trying to keep his voice as controlled as possible: "Because," Tails said angrily. "I don't think Knuckles will be able to hold back much longer."

Tails was correct; Knuckles's little self-restraint was ebbing away with increasing speed. The only thing keeping him back now was Rouge's hand on his shoulder. Soon even that would not be enough to keep the echidna's anger in check.

Dr. Robotnick took this in stride, barely even the slightest bit miffed. "Well, that does pose a problem to YOU, now doesn't it? If you kill me, you'll never find out what happened to them." He looked very pleased with himself for coming up with such a smart comeback the gang.

"Who says," Sally began, so deadly she surprised even herself. "That we have to kill you?" She smiled slowly, dangerously; she was also fingering her gun. The safety came off with a click, the needless gesture creating an even more tension-filled atmosphere and she looked pointedly at Eggman's legs. "You don't need those do you?"

Eggman paled. Apparently this hadn't occurred to him. The gears were turning in his head, and then he swallowed.

"Well then, it seems like we won't have to that after all." Rouge said smiling now too. "Good, I didn't want to get my boots dirty."

Eggman looked at them all. And, seeing their terrifying faces filled with fury, gave up. He then began. "The device I used on your little hedgehog friends opened a portal." he said. The others waited for him to go on, and when he didn't, Knuckles lost it temporarily.

He punched him in the gut. Hard. With his pointed gloved hands. The doctor cried out in pain. "WHERE ARE THEY?!" He yelled as Eggman clutched his stomach.

"Just what I said!" Eggman coughed. "Honestly, we inventors get no respect-none at all. As I said, your friends are in another dimension."

"Dimension?" Tails asked thoughtfully. His intellect already spinning with a speed surpassing Sonic own foot-power: the plans, the calculations, the possibilities. His mind and soul were delving into the prospect, anything to get his mind off of the two companions he had known since a child.

"Yes, you stupid idiot! What are you, deaf?"

"What kind of dimension?" Sally demanded glaring. She didn't like the sound of it. Coming from Eggman she knew that it was not good. And with a hatred like his for Sonic...

Dr. Robotnick looked at her blankly. "Well, that's the brilliance of it. I don't know."

Silence.

"YOU WHAT?!!" The group exclaimed. Knuckles punched him again. The 'doctor' doubled over again.

"Araagh!"

"What-do-you-mean-you-don't-know?" the red echidna hissed, yanking the doctor back up and threatening to do it to his face.

His glasses had enough abuse, and Robotnik peered up through the shattered lenses as he tried to maintain as much dignity as possible. "I say, that's no way to treat me." Eggman scolded. He sighed, as if trying to explain two plus two equals four, not twelve, to children. "There are many dimensions besides our own. In it, there can more or less of anything. One dimension could be basically a hell on earth, another could be of wise and beautiful people where peace is eternal. Or it could be a world were magic replaces technology, or traveling back in time. Or it could be as simple as a species change. Or-"

"ENOUGH! EITHER YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM RIGHT NOW OR THERE WILL BE NOT ENOUGH OF YOU TO SCRAPE ON TOAST!" Knuckles yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Haven't I already told you that I don't know? It is impossible to actually pin point their exact location, yet I have structured another magnificent invention in case I wanted to reverse it-What?"

They were all staring at him, in unbelieving expressions. "You mean-" Sally started. "You mean you can bring them back?"

"Haven't I already explained that they are NOT dead?" Dr. Eggman said aggravated. "Of COURSE I can bring them back. I am the greatest genius in the world after all!" He puffed out his chest and, despite his terrible wounds and blood and cuts, looked extremely satisfied with his statement.

"Get my boyfriend back!" Sally said unsympathetically, ignoring the mad scientist's statement.

"What makes you think I want to?"

His question was never answered. The rest of the group politely left to find blue-prints and hack into the one remaining mega-computer whilst Knuckles had a little 'chat' with the Eggman. They had some catching up to do, after all.

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'Am I alive?' Sonic thought groggily. He was the fastest hedgehog on earth. He had saved that Earth a million times, plus two. He had destroyed an ancient snake, very big-ass snake. He has killed the BIO Lizard. He had beaten Shadow twice, and survived fighting in space for crying out loud! He had survived joining with the Chaos Emeralds, NOT very easy!

'And I died...because of a bright light!'

That was...so...LAME.

He hadn't even gotten a last chili dog before he croaked.

Something was shaking him. No, no go away...he wanted to kill it. He was dead too after all, he deserved peace. And babes.

'Maybe I'm in heaven,' He thought dimly. He certainly had done enough to it, in his high opinion. Plus bonus points. Oh, what if it was a babe?!

"Sonic! Sonic please wake up!"

'Sally?'

He opened his eyes, but could only see hot white light-the sun. Maybe he was on a beach in heaven? If that could be true, bring on the chili dog stands! He forced them to focus, expecting to see his girlfriend's worried expression in her pretty eyes. He didn't even think as to why Sally would be there with him. Maybe that's why he reacted the way he did.

They were green eyes. Sally did not have green eyes.

Someone else did.

"AHHH!! IT'S YOU! THIS MUST BE THE OTHER PLACE!! NOOOO!!"

Slap!

"Jeez, you can't even take a joke." He said, rubbing his eyes. He...still...could...not...see...

Welcome to Hell! Population: You and Amy! Yay for you.

Darn it, no wonder you weren't supposed to look at the sun directly.

In this case big-ass laser-pointers.

"SONIC! LISTEN TO ME!"

"Whaddya want?" Even though this was not the right thing to do, especially where one's eyes were concerned, he continued to rub. 'Darn those purple shapes-go away!'

Wait.

His hands...didn't feel as they usually did. They felt...odd...

Naked.

Amy snatched his hands, not even in the 'romantic' way that she sometimes tried to do.

"LOOK AT ME YOU STUPID IDIOT!" She screamed at his face, her voice carrying violent notes of panic.

"Amy, for the love of--" He couldn't finish his sentence.

To say Amy was different would be an understatement.

To say Amy was taller would be there also.

Her features were very different. So must be his.

They were human.

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	3. Chapter Three

A/N: Wait, what goes here? Yes I know, I am alive! Hit a wall, but now I'm up again! Ugh, writer's block is pure murder, you hear? MURDER! And then at two a.m. I put down my AP calc and thought "OH NOES! PLOT BUNNY!"

…And it has nothing to do with the fact that I have been happily immersing myself in Labyrinth or Inu-Yasha fics…nope…no, not me... +hides Favorites folder in hardrive bursting with saved authors/pages/etc+ I AM A VERY FOCUSED PERSON!

skims over it's a bit choppy but somehow I was inspired and couldn't stop writing! I apologize if it's not that great…it will start moving along…

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Disclaimer: I own squat.

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This was different.

When he voiced this, Amy glared at him again.

Hey, it _was_! Jeez, what was it with girls and taking everything to heart--making him feel like whatever he said was stupid?

But you gotta understand, he was in a total state of numb shock.

He was a freakin' _human_.

As in, skin, not fur. Not even blue!

And no cool spikes to freak enemies with.

Oh well, at least he wasn't naked. Amy was still in her hot pink getup, and since none of the passerby was looking at him funny (unless this was a nudist colony…ugh...bad experiences…wait, Amy's not gaping at me…good) Sonic guessed he was in the clear.

After a sudden outburst of hyperventilation, he realized that at least in this world of hell, there was a single godly plus: He had his sneakers. He didn't care that Amy was look at him like he'd grown a second head (which…really, wouldn't be all that weird considering the present events) when he sank to the ground and kissed it.

Thank.

The.

Lord.

Praise be to Jesus! Children can you gimme Hallelujah he had his sneakers!

It wasn't that Sonic had a problem with humans (except for the whole "I AM MAN, RAGGGHH" thing), really.

It just wasn't the same. Humans were boring by nature; at least, that was Sonic's evaluation on the species.

Amy…wow, maybe it was because if he admitted the annoying hedgehog's differences, it made it more frighteningly real: Sonic didn't do very well having to adjust to circumstances in his favor (not laziness, SALLY, just a matter of being comfortable. Much like when Knuckles said he was cheating on his temp's test to politely (and repeatedly) ask the head instructor with big green eyes and performed his best imitation of Cream. Pulease, Sonic preferred the term "reaching out for help.").

Okay, focus. Admit it: Amy Rose is very...changed.

He didn't explode. Although a small part of him did want to scream OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.

Breathe.

Well…in some areas they were still the same, basically. Amy still had those abnormally large green eyes, and pink hair. Her form of dress was still pink, white, and turquoise. Just add a taller frame, new complexion, bone structure, a pinch of new DNA...

Ah, screw it. No sense in finding something positive, he thought. _Everything _was altered.

What did he look like?

He hadn't realized he had said this aloud until he was being yanked up by the once-pink-annoying-well-still-annoying female hedgehog.

Apparently there was a body of water--an ocean?--where they had "landed." How the heck had they gotten there anyway? Not exactly easy to be blasted apart by a freakin' flashlight one second and the next to be on a city beach. He peered into the sandy water, and concentrated to focus his attention on the surface of the water, rather than the underlying life beneath it.

He still had his charmer eyes. Boo-yah Egghead. Hmm, not too bad for a human...He lifted a hand, his heart pumped with excitement at the weirdness of it all, and watched the hand in the reflection lift the right hand as well.

"What did you expect--it not to move?" Amy snapped at him, staring at her own reflection. He was going to snap back at her, it wasn't HIS fault anyway they were like this, but stopped when he saw the frightened expression on her face.

He bit his lip (HUMAN lips--they felt odd) and wondered what to do in this situation. Sally should be here--she was way better at doing that fuzzy-comfort-feeling thing than he was. He stared at the sky. 'I'm not good at this; I'm not good at this!' He repeated in his mind, begging something positive to happen or something to distract them both from thinking about their current problems...

"Oh God..." He heard Amy whimper, and when he faced her tears pouring down her cheeks. She was staring at her hands.

"Hey, Ames..." He didn't know what to say, how to make this right. Sure, he could turn this whole thing into a joke, but Amy hadn't seen enough bullshit yet to do that. She never would; she had a child-like innocence like that. "Ames, it'll be okay..."

"NO! No it _won't_, Sonic!" She wailed and threw her arms around him, sobbing. "And it's just…" she wiped her teary eyes, "I thought you might have liked me even a _little bit…_"

Sonic flinched. Oh great, crying. He hated it when girls cried (why he and Sally got along so well…she didn't cry, she smacked him with a log), because he had No Idea what to do. And feelings. Amy liked feelings, while Sonic was nauseated by them. He squirmed. Not this _again. _"Erm…wait! Stop…stop crying! Um. Ames, t-this is no time for…uh…"

"But _you_," Amy sniffled being her hands, "Keep playing Mr. Macho…"

She whirled around on him. "AND THAT'S HOW WE ALWAYS GET INTO THESE SITUATIONS! YOU IDIOT! IDDDIIIOOOOOT!"

"Eaaahhh!" Sonic recoiled wide-eyed as Amy went for his throat. _Cripes, did she not _want _me to save her then?! _"We're all okay! Stop crying! And screaming! _And choking me_!"

"I'M NOT CRYING." Amy screamed, releasing him and he gasped for air as she sank into the sand. "I'm just glad you're all right!" She bawled.

Sonic tried to regain his composure. _God girls are so weird…_ Sweat dropping and sighing impatiently, he patted her head a bit while looking out to sea.

A thought occurred to him.

Grin.

Mwahahaha. God he was _so_ evil.

And cool, but more of that later.

He looked down at the pink head occupying his chest and tugged her chin until she was looking up at him. "Amy…" he murmured, "Amy…"

Her eyes widened. "Y-Yes, Sonic?" He could have felt her heart quicken.

"Amy…I don't know how to say this," Dramatically, he turned his head away from her. He clutched her hand in his tightly, as if in extreme emotional pain. Which he was…heheh…

"Just say it Sonic," her voice was soft and a low, undertone of excitement.

"Lean closer Amy," He said, just as soft and low. "I'm only saying and doing this once."

"I understand, Sonic…" She leaned in closer and he in turn also did so.

"Ames…" He breathed in her ear. He felt her shudder.

"S-Sonic…"

"Ames…"

"Sonic…"

Breath.

"You're boobs are _way_ huge now."

The citizens of this unknown city looked up from their afternoon lunches and meetings in confusion toward the beach where it disturbingly sounded like someone was being abhorrently tortured.

"I want to go home." Amy whispered. She wanted her mallet too. It was all fine when there was an enemy to fight, at least the source of your agony could be destroyed. Basically she wanted to hit Sonic with it, but he was still trying to get his head out of the sand so she was all right for now. But this…she had no idea where the Egg Head had sent them; how could she fight the source of her problem if it was worlds away?

She uncrossed her arms. Worlds away…the saying was so literal now it scared her.

"I know." Sonic replied, and she covered her mouth when she realized she'd voice her bitterness. She watched him chew the hot dog loaded with the usual chili thoughtfully--at least somebody could breath easy about all of this…waita minute…

"Where did you get that!" She glared at him as his eyes widened innocently. "Did you steal that?"

He grinned. "Do you really want to know?" _I _AM_ speed!_

Amy rolled her eyes. "What do you think Tails and Knuckles are doing about this?"

"I have no idea. Knuckles' probably just fine since I'm not there to give him a hernia over whether I'll probably break his stupid shiny rock again." That red dude had a serious problem—weren't obsessions with inanimate objects considered unhealthy? Yeah Sonic knew that the preservation of the Chaos Emerald held the balance of the universe so long as it was a stable whole yadda yadda yadda whatever. Where was some bot he could blow up? Sonic rolled his eyes.

Amy sat quietly for a few minutes. She knew Sonic had deliberately left Tails out of the conversation. Poor Tails, she thought, poor little Fox Boy. He was probably in shock. "I hope they don't think we're dead." She said softly.

This obviously hadn't occurred to Sonic before. She suppressed a hysterical giggle when his green eyes widened and began to choke on his hotdog. After gulping some water down (Amy didn't want to know where he got that either), he stared across at the pink-clad stalker and gaped. "They sure as hell BETTER not," he ground out, "or we're screwed. Seriously."

Amy's face brightened for a moment: "Actually I bet Eggman bragged about it after we were...zapped?...yeah, anyway, you know how he is: the most moronic evil villain to walk Mobias and Earth." Sonic's grin came back, but inside he couldn't suppress one thought: Dr. Robotnik hadn't always been that way...

He shook his head. Let it go. Let it go let it go let it go. But even so, it had always been something he always thought of when he had faced countless robots, Chaos, Metal Sonic, and even Shadow.

Amy was distracted and staring at the mall across from the hot dog patio. Suddenly she got up and started walking off to it.

The feeling Sonic got right then…It could have been the equivalent of the icy chill running down Sarah Michelle Geller character's spine in _I Know What You Did Last Summer_ as she slowly moved down the dark, cold alley. Or when the stupid hormone-driven girlfriend leaped into the ocean, eyes widening as something abruptly began to rank at her leg and screamed for her unconscious boyfriend—

'Oh no...' Sonic groaned. "Amy! AMY!"

The girl in question wasn't listening. She just turned around, smiled cutely and waved, then resumed her point of course. Before Sonic could say anything else, she was lost in the crowd shuffle and he lost sight of her.

STUPID MALE HUMAN BODIES! These things were powerless against females in missile mode to capitalist ventures! "THIS IS _NOT_ THE TIME FOR _SHOPPING_!"

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He grunted. Sweat pasted his fur back and his paws were slippery from the heat of the weapons hanger. But he ignored it, and reached for a long and slender tool with the company name peeling off. Clicking the end, he ignored the beam of light shooting out from it as well, and aimed the laser at the very center underneath the machine.

Tails scratched his ear distractedly as he stared at the complex insides of the laser beam. His brain automatically began taking notes and solving complex formulas anyone else his age would have stared blankly at.

But that's why he was here.

The circuit... he stared at the pale orange wire and then at his pliers. His brain told him that according to the solutions and variables, this wire was connected to the energy flow of the machine...but he wasn't looking for the main...

Without looking, he made a grab for the minicomputer system by his head. Clipping the visual aid connector piece in the hook of his left ear, he dropped the pliers and balanced the keyboard on his belly; with his tongue between his canines, he thought hard about the coordinates and equations and typed them in. The visual aid covering his left eye blinked to the usual green screen, gold-type letters scrambling at random for logical data. After a few seconds of rhythmic beeping, a high note bleeped out and a 3D version of Egg Man's machine appeared on the screen.

"Zoom in…" he muttered, willing the computer to be able to read it. "Come on, baby, don't fail me now…"

Suddenly the screen went blank and the piercing high pitched of static went off in his earpiece at full volume. "What the hell!" Tails jolted up in alarm…hitting his head on the top of the machine.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He heard Sally cry out as the laser point swiveled.

"Crap, I think I just turned it on again!" Tails stared at the wires for a moment, then yanked out all the wires at once as he felt the machine start to hum faster. Four of the lines came free, the energy giving him a start but he continued to pull.

"What's going on?!" Rouge dove underneath the machine to join the struggling Fox. She clawed at the remaining wires and in a few swipes the last few came free.

The now-familiar light dimmed away.

"GAH!" The shock filled Tail's veins and he gave a startled cry as Rouge let go of the other wires. The remaining in his paw sparked with his fur and he felt himself get slammed into an adjacent machine, tools and computers flying everywhere.

"Oh, Tails!" He heard Sally cry as she went for him and held him down as Rouge snatched the wire away. "Tails, I'm so sorry! I didn't see that wire…"

"S'ok," he said, a little dazed. He blinked at the ceiling lights and then breathed in deeply, his heart racing. "Just a little excited now is all." He heard Rouge suppressing a few chuckles. "What?"

Rouge smiled down at him as Sally helped him up. "Kid, you look like you just stuck you're finger in an electric socket." She took out her pocket mirror. "Look at yourself."

Tails looked into his reflected image and gave a bark of laughter, Sally giggling now too. Rouge wasn't kidding. "I hope that didn't take out the entire lab," he said, laughing some more.

"You look like a big fluffy yellow cotton ball," Rouge commented, lip twitched.

"He always does," Sally said fondly.

They all looked at Tails (or the mirror) and started laughing again as Rouge ruffled his head saying, "You are the most A-dorable thing to walk the planets…"

"What's so funny?"

"Hey, Knuckles," Tails said…a bit wary. Despite what Sonic always said about Knuckles being 'a gooey marshmallow inside,' Tails could never ignore the echidna's aura that always seemed like he was ready to kill somebody. Tails always made a conscious effort to never be this person. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes; and here Sonic always wondered why Knuckles was a loose firework—the way Sonic seemingly went out of his way to test Knuckles blood pressure, it wasn't like his mentor made it any easier—

Sonic…

The smile ebbed away from his face. What was he doing here, messing around and laughing when _Sonic_ was in trouble—how could he have forgotten? How could he… The fox strode back to the laser…or what used to be the laser. Now it was fizzing and smoking…not good. "Look at this mess," he whispered. "I have to fix this, now…"

"Tails," Rouge said kindly with her voice still of laughter, touching his shoulder. "Take a break, no one will find Sonic if our most valuable asset runs himself ragged."

He shrugged her off. "Sonic never gave himself a break!" He snapped at them, making Rouge's eyes widen slightly with surprise. He bent down and picked up the fallen wrench, wincing at the heat from the electric blast. "Sonic always tries to help me! And he doesn't care if he's 'running himself ragged'! He fights until he can't fight anymore! He—"

"You are not Sonic, Tails." Knuckles said coldly, causing the fox to immediately blink back tears.

He closed his eyes, glad that he was an animal and no one could see his cheeks flame with embarrassment.

"Tails," Sally said softly, "I think what Knuckles here is trying to say," Rouge whapped the brash creature upside the head, "Is that we _all_ need our favorite blue hedgehog." She smiled at him, and Tails felt calmer somehow. "It's all right to miss him, but he and Amy are not dead. And we have Robotnik locked up. And I've downloaded all the blueprints for reference." She waved a computer disk Tails hadn't noticed her carrying before.

"It'll all be OK, Fox Boy," Rouge said, glaring nastily at Knux, who glared right back, "Just take your time."

Tails sighed, still a bit embarrassed for being such a baby. "I'm sorry," he said, dropping the wrench. "I didn't mean to burst; it's just that…it's never been Sonic we all had to rescue…never." He looked at them all. "And I feel responsible for letting Amy go."

Rouge knew by the way that Sally's expression freeze (but still soft for Tails) that to continue this discussion further would result in the choice of sides; something the beautiful bat didn't think would be all right for now. It was a girl thing, woman intuition or whatever, when a male was caught between two. "Come on," she said, tugging on the younger boy's paw. "I don't understand this place's format; I need you to explain to me how to shut off the bots."

Knuckles did a double take. "They're still clawing at the gate? I thought we slaughtered them all; and didn't Tails shut off their power sources? They should all be stationary decorations now."

Rouge rolled her eyes to the ceiling, silently repeating in a mantra that stomping on the impossible echidna's foot would not be subtle. Unfortunately, for all his wisdom for rituals of the gods and the knowledge of his powerful Chaos Emerald, the Knucklehead still possessed serious density that should have driven her away a LONG time ago. "_Apparently not all of them," _she hissed, trying to communicate with eyes to Shut Up. Blank glare. She tried not to sigh, "A certain idiotic mad scientist had them built so they would fight until the last bolt gets unscrewed." And having the target missiles going off when she went on a survivor trip to the rest room wasn't the best experience either, anyway, she thought darkly.

"Okay, I'll take a break," Tails locked his supply box and stacked it on top of the larger one. "But only for a little while!" He said hastily.

Rouge gave the softest smile she had ever given another being. "Thank you, sweetie. My knight in shining armor."

As they walked off, Sally stared after him; a quick glance at Knuckles told her he was doing the same thing. "Knuckles, does…Tails know…?"

The red echidna shook his head before walking off, probably to kick the crap out of Robotnik some more (Sally thinks Knuckles doesn't believe in too much of a good thing). "No, Sonic and I decided a long time ago not to tell him."

"Why?" The princess called after him. "Tails isn't the sort of person to let his head reach the size of his inventions." Unlike a certain hedgehog I could mention, she thought, smiling a little.

Knuckles paused. "It's not that."

Sally knew that Knuckles never meant to be hard on Tails; she could tell that in a way, the fiery creature tried to help him along, nudge him in the right direction (more of a kick, but it is Knuckles). It was something Sonic could never do for the younger boy, so caught up did Sonic get in the rage of the battle and the size of his ego.

"It's safer this way. Eggman would want to have him eliminated if he knew." He was watching the instruments, of power…of torture.

"Because of what he is?" Sally ventured.

"No," Knuckles turned and smiled. "What he might become."

Knuckles, Sally deduced long ago, is completely incapable of truly smiling, and this was no different. It was a twisted 'so he'll be pretty f'ed up' smile that was still holding something back. The unorthodox princess repressed a shudder.

Sally stared at the technology, the tool boxes and data spreadsheets, knowing without glancing up that she was alone in the room…but it was more peaceful that way, and her fur relaxed as she sat and thought. _Sonic…_

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Sonic didn't think that he could ever have an enemy he would ever willingly shrink away from without a fight. He perceived himself was a rebel, and Sonic the hedgehog was not going down easily to anybody!

He remembered how it was bad trying to kill the Ultimate Life Form and saving the #! world. Again. But…one word…would make him shudder with dread and beg for another go with the freaky lizard:

Mall.

But…he guessed his ego had inflated a little bit since Amy came back (and with a separation from Sally's negative comments there was bound to be some side effects). Growling inwardly, he maneuvered around the shoppers, wishing he had a few more pairs of eyes to track Amy. Personally, he had always thought the annoying girl would always stick out like a sore thumb (an idea evolved due to the fact that whenever he saw her she was running right _at_ him to LOUDLY profess undying love and devotion), now however…

Okay maybe the reason it was slightly more difficult was that his mind kept searching for a little pink hedgehog, not a human girl dressed _in_ pink. Sonic found himself having to keep a stronger focus (GASP) and retrace his steps often to make sure that Amy really hadn't passed by without his immediate knowing.

Gritting his teeth and trying to calm his adrenaline, the blue hedgehog began his mission…which he could probably abandon later…Amy didn't need his help…oh, chili dogs…

Focus. Focus.

He eyed the creepy worker at the perfume stand smiling like some freak Bozo-the-Clown.

No.

No Fricking.

Frolicking.

Way.

(But just as long as he didn't start crying in a fetal position whilst sucking his thumb like the last time Knuckles refused to help him find her and her 'little Birdy', he would still look unspeakably cool.)

Oh well, it could be worse, at least there wasn't any—

_If I was invisible_

_yeah yea!_

_And I could just _watch_ you in your room—_

Sonic grabbed his ears in horror. WHAT SICK FREAK INVENTED THIS PLACE?! "AMMMYYYYYYY!!!!"

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Sonic's head is weird. I'm not sure whether to stay comic/game multi-universe or settle on one.

Macropodathist1- /cowers/ I'm lazy. I admit it.

Chaos Flower : Sorry it's not that soon! SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY::bow:: omg, btw, you reviewed on my birthday…three or however many years ago::glomp:: I LOVE YOUR WORK SO MUCH!

Skittles the Sugar Fairy- ::glomp:: you inspired me to keep this going! I am so glad you like this!

Thank you all for your kind reviews! It's like loading guilt in several layers, and every day I sign in it just hangs over my head…--


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